New Chlamydia test shows type of infection
A new Chlamydia test can quickly and easily demonstrate the subtype (serovar) of the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis a person is infected with. This has important clinical implications, because some Chlamydia subtypes, that particularly appear in homosexual men, need longer treatment with antibiotics. So far, it was not possible to demonstrate with one test only which subtype of Chlamydia trachomatis a person is infected with. Moreover, the new testing method is less time consuming than before. Koen Quint studied the new test in his PhD research project. The newly developed test is now commercially available. If there is no need to test the subtype, the test may also be used only to show whether someone is infected with Chlamydia. Koen Quint will defend his PhD thesis on Thursday, May 26 at VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.